


The Dark Wonder Of Gotham

by SkyFallSlayer



Series: Behind Wings And Shades [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Gotham (TV), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Creepy Joker, Creepy Ra's al Ghul, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Robin, Established Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma, F/M, Female Dick Grayson, Good Grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, Good Parent Alfred Pennyworth, Jeremiah Valeska is Joker (DCU), Jim Gordon & Bruce Wayne Friendship, Jim Gordon & Dick Grayson - Freeform, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Touching, Nygmobblepot, Other, Parental Bruce Wayne, Past Jim Gordon/Barbara Kean, Protective Alfred Pennyworth, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, Protective Jim Gordon, Protective Oswald Cobblepot, Rachel Grayson - Freeform, Set in the Gotham TV show universe, Soft Jim Gordon, Soft Parent Bruce Wayne, Temporary Character Death, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Time Travel, parental jim gordon, troublesome past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29034672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyFallSlayer/pseuds/SkyFallSlayer
Summary: Jim finds himself stuck with a young girl that claims she’s from the future, and needs help to get home. At first he’s not convinced, not until troublesome villains he’s never seen before arrive out of nowhere, and causes havoc in the city of Gotham.Oh, and it seems like Ra’s and a Jerome look alike are behind all this. Great.(Set after 4x05. The episode where Bruce kills Ra's)
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Edward Nygma, Harvey Bullock & Jim Gordon, Jim Gordon & Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon & Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon & Dick Grayson, Jim Gordon & Leslie Thompkins, Jim Gordon/Leslie Thompkins, Oswald Cobblepot & Dick Grayson, Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Series: Behind Wings And Shades [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130267
Comments: 26
Kudos: 54





	1. Are You Pulling My Leg?

**Author's Note:**

> My first Gotham/Batman related story ever! Let's see how this goes.
> 
> Enjoy! :D
> 
> **(Note: This chapter is short because it's a teaser for what's next to come. Expect longer chapters afterwards.)**

The midnight wind blew lightly, ruffling the feathers of the pigeons sharing their assigned spots in the cage. They cooed quietly, some burying their heads as they slept the night away. The tiny animals were used to hearing police sirens and high pitched screams coming from the troublesome city. However, they weren't prepared when a booming white light appeared, making a sound that could be related to a bomb going off. 

The pigeons jerked and tried to flutter away, but the lock door kept them in for their ‘safety’. The light disappeared only when something, or _someone_ , popped out. The person let out a frustrated cry, tensing up at the painful face plant they just did against the concrete roof. A finger nail painted hand reached up for their nose, while the other free hand pushed themselves up to sit down. A group of curse words were muttered from the supposed female as her nose started to bleed, and her body began to ache from the top of her head, and all the way down to her heel covered feet. 

“What… what the hell?” She mumbled, soon finding herself squinting in the dark. _“How’d I get outside? And where am I?”_

Slight fear struck her in the core when she couldn't recognize where she was. She carefully got up, balancing herself as her eyes attacked the city skyline. She looked around with confusion and uncertainty, especially when she caught a glimpse of Gotham’s famous clocktower.

 _“Well that’s not supposed to be there.”_ Squaring her shoulders, and remembering her training to stay calm (even in the most unlikely situations). 

She carefully surveyed the area again, spotting a railing on one of the sides of the roof she was on, and got an idea. She took a few steps forward, cursing when she nearly stumbled over on her white gladiator heels that her stylist insisted she wear. 

She growled at them, wasting no time to take them off. “Stupid, fucking heels.” She grasps them together in one hand, and marches over to the fire escape. 

She climbed down the rusty narrow stairs, jumping off the final latter that was stuck and in desperate need of some repairs. And once again, she found herself looking around, only this time she was looking down herself. She noticed her elegant dress with silver trim that caressed her body, and showed off some skin (much to her father’s demise, it once again was curtsy to her stylist that she might just have to fire). 

She frowns at some of the factors that plays out tonight:

A) She was a young girl.

B) She was dressed like she was a fucking super model.

And C) She was in Gotham at night.

Overall, it wasn’t such a good idea, especially if someone would recognize her for who she is, then it would be game over. She nearly shivers at the thought of last time she was held for ransom.

_“Can’t be having that.”_

The girl chucked her heels into the dumpster, before snatching something to wear off the clothesline above. A pair of pants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. She found herself pausing when she felt how soft the black hoodie was, and examined the logo printed onto it. It was a band merch, Wheezer to be exact, but that wasn’t what struck her though…

 _“This looks brand freaking new. What’s going on?”_ She thought, her mind turning for answers. 

Putting her question on the backburner, she discarded her dress and changed into street clothes. She tucked away the jewelry she was wearing, in case she needed it for later (and probably will because she seems like she lost her purse with her credit card in it). Still barefoot, she trekked out into the cold crosswalk, brushing past any people in her way. Shivering a bit when the wind picked up, it was almost like winter was coming at any moment.

 _“I don’t remember it being this cold either. I didn’t even have a sweater on when we went to the gala.”_ She thought, hugging herself to keep warm. _“Now that I think about it, isn’t it supposed to be summertime?”_

Crossing the street at an intersection, she found herself facing a homeless man holding out a cup for change. Her heart clenched, but also her eyes lit up when he saw what he was wearing on his lower half. The girl fishes out her stunning emerald ring, taking a few steps forward and holding it out. Their eyes met, and as kindly as she could, she says,

“I’ll give you this ring if you give me your shoes.” Gesturing to his red and blue beat up sneakers on his feet. Without any hesitation for the man, he kicks them off and swipes the ring from her hand, almost crying with happiness.

“Thank you, young lady.” He said, flashing a broken smile.

“You’re welcome. Take care.”

Sliding the shoes that were too big for her feet _-but had to make them work for her numb feet’s sake-_ , she was soon being pulled in every direction possible, all while keeping her eyes open on everything that seemed to be different. She quickly notices the way people walk, or dress, and even the cars on the road seem very different from what she’s used to. It was indeed odd. The sense of fear comes back as she starts to wonder if this might have been a villain’s doing, or maybe the many hits she’s taken to the head has finally caught up to her.

 _“Am I in a coma? Or could this be Tetch’s doing? Riddler’s maybe?”_ She shakes her head. _“No. There’s no way they could do something like this. So what’s going on?”_

Brightly lit neon colors poured onto her face, stopping her in her tracks. She looks up to find a diner using neon lights for its sign.

 _“A diner. And it looks like it’s twenty four hours, So maybe I can wait here until I figure out what’s going on.”_ With a little more confidence than earlier, she headed inside to an almost packed diner. Her bright blue eyes took it in, just as the woman behind the counter spoke to her.

“Can I help, sweety? Or are you still waiting on your parents?”

“Um, well-” She begins, just before a boisterous man comes through the door (Seriously, who’s this happy at this hour?).

“Hey, Home skillet! What’s up?!” He yells, throwing his arms out for effect as the one of the main cooks poked their head through the serving window.

“Hey, Tony! Where’ve you been?” The cook asked.

“I was at a Guns N’ Roses concert in Gotham park. They killed it tonight, man!”

She raised an eyebrow, not recalling their being a concert tonight at the city’s park. “Guns N’ Roses?” She asked, catching his attention. 

“Yeah. They're this super hip rock band that I love. You know, Big hair, great music, hard rocking youngsters? They’re da bomb!” 

She blinks in confusion. _“Youngsters? They’re not young. Those guys are in their fifties. Wait…”_ She scratches her chin in thought, puzzle pieces starting to fit. _“First the clock tower; then this Wheezer hoodie I’m wearing is brand new; The guy just said ‘Home skillet’ and ‘Da bomb’, and he said that the Guns N’ Roses guys are young. So does that mean I’m…?”_

She gasps quiet, her head snapping back at the lady behind the counter who seemed to also be eavesdropping on the two men’s conversation.

“Excuse me-” She said, putting her acting skills to the test. She pretends to be embarrassed by rubbing the back of her neck. “This is embarrassing, but I have this brain injury I got a few years back, and unfortunately I have trouble remembering anything after the day it happens. So if it’s okay if I ask you a question that could help me?”

The lady covers her mouth in shock. “Oh dear, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry.” She replies, before giving a comforting smile. “Sure thing dear. What would you like to ask me?”

“I was just wondering what year it was?”

“Hmm… well that is a weird question, but if it’ll help you I’ll tell. It’s 1995.”

She froze. “Nineteen… Ninety… Five?”

“Yes, that'll be correct.”

“Oh… I see…”

The lady’s face turned almost motherly, her voice etching with words of concern next. “Sweetheart, you don’t look so good. Do you want something to drink? It’s on the house.” Not trusting her words to speak, the girl nodded. “Okay, why don’t you sit down while I’ll go get it.”

She swallowed, and stumbled forward to catch herself against the countertop. A haunting expression grew on her face for everyone to see, as she tried to control her shaking form. She was here, not back _there_. She was here in the 90s, not back in the twenty-first century where she belongs. And what makes it all worse is because she’s alone, and has no idea what to expect from this era. Hell. She wasn’t even born yet.

 _“1995? I somehow traveled back in time.”_ She clenches the countertop tighter. _“How the hell am I supposed to get myself out of this now?”_


	2. You're A Babysitter Now, Jim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim meets a girl who claims she's from the future, and honestly, he shouldn't be surprised. This is Gotham after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is here! And our story begins! Enjoy!

Jim drove his car to a stop, pulling back the emergency brake and turning the key. He let himself sigh heavily, his forehead finding its way to rest against the steering wheel. The whole week had just been terrible. Between Ra’s Al Ghul, and the fight over who gets to control the underworld was causing him nonstop troublesome messes. Not to mention that last night him and Harvey had encountered a madman dressed in a pig’s head. 

Just another day in Gotham, right?

His thoughts wandered to all of those things, trying to solve the problem within each one. However, the more he gave them his two senses, the more he realized that how could _one_ man really do all that by himself? Could he? Probably not. But he wants to try.

Jim shakes his head, and rubs his eyes as he recalls why he’s really here in this nearly packed lot. He barely had any time to enter the police station this morning before he was bombarded by Alvarez, telling him about a disturbance at a local diner. To his surprise, it was the diner him and Harvey hit all the time. So with his badge and gun tucked away, he got out of the car, only wishing he had a hot coffee cup in his hand right now. He walked up to the restaurant, taking a glimpse at the two cop cars a few feet away, with men in blue huddling in a group in front of them. Curious about what was going on there, Jim took a step towards them, only for another cop that was on the scene to stop him.

“Detective.” The man said, getting his attention.

Jim faced his brother, noticing the notepad in his hand. “What happened here? Alvarez didn’t give me much to go on.” 

“I just took the statement from one of the chefs here, and apparently a kid walked in around midnight last night. He claims she was all lost and confused.” He gestures behind him towards the police cars with his pen.

Jim raised an eyebrow. “Just the kid? Are her parents nearby?”

“Well, that's what I asked, and the chef told me ‘no’. The workers tried to pry some info on the whereabouts of her parents, but she kept avoiding the question.”

“Huh.” He said, thinking. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, they also said she was fine for these past couple hours, but just as seven o’clock am rolled around, she ended just sucker punching some customer for no reason whatsoever. The chef thinks she might be from juvie or something.”

“Why would he think that?”

“Because that kid over there is just smiling and laughing like nothing happened. Strange, right?”

_“That is strange.”_ Jim thinks, before nodding. “Alright, I’ll go talk to her. Thank you, Rameriz.” 

“No problem, Gordon.”

Jim starts wandering over towards the group of policemen, finally getting into earshot of what they were saying.

“-ou listening to us, kid?” A cop said, sternly.

“Are _you_ listening to me?” A girl snapped back with a sassy tone. “I said, I will only talk if I have either Harvey Bullock or Jim Gordon in front of me. _That’s it._ ”

“Yeah, Yeah, we heard you the first few times. Can you just tell us why you punched that guy?” 

“Jim Gordon or Harvey Bullock. Take it or leave it, Asshole.”

“Now listen here you little shi-”

“I’ll take it from here.” Jim immediately cuts in, getting all surprised eyes on him.

“Detective Gordon. I didn’t think we’d see you here.” One said, stunned.

“See?!” The girl blurts out, her cuffed hands gesturing to him. “He’s finally here. I’ll talk to him.”

“Are you really going to talk to her, Gordon?” Another cop asked, irritated at the girl. “She’s being a real pain in the neck.”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to her. It is what she wants.” Jim replies, watching as the cops shrug and mutter incoherent stuff as they walk away. He inches closer to the hood of the police car she was sitting on, and as he got closer he noticed a giant bruise on her nose, with spots of dried blood on her cheeks. “Did you get that in a fight?”

The raven haired girl shook her head. “No. I just face planted.”

“Uh, huh.” He mutters, not fully convinced. _“So much for being concerned.”_ He clears his throat, and continues on. “What’s your name, Kid?”

She looks up at him with fond blue eyes, and a cheeky smile. “Rachel.” 

“Rachel. Okay.” He fixes his stance, watching her carefully. “So, Rachel, a buddy of mine just told me that you wandered into a diner last night and randomly punched a stranger?”

She nods. “That’s right.”

“And why would you do that?”

She shrugs, nonchalantly. “It was the only way to get your guys’ attention.”

Jim blinks, dumbfounded by what he just heard. “You assaulted someone just so you can get the GCPD’s attention?”

“That's right again. I needed to talk to you guys. Specially you, or Mr. Bullock.”

“But…” He pauses, still trying to make some sense of this all. “If you just wanted to talk to us, then why didn’t you just go to the police station?”

“Well, for starters, it was nighttime and nighttime isn't the best place for a young girl to walk alone, especially in a city like this.” She replies, shrugging again. “Also, my dad doesn’t like me walking alone whether it’s day or night. I was just respecting his wishes.”

“Okay… wow. Um…” He stutters, rubbing his neck in thought. He’s never encountered someone or something like this before, and after many years of experience in investigating, he wasn’t sure how to handle this one. “Okay. _Rachel.”_ He fishes his phone out of his pocket, flipping it open. “You said you have dad, right? What’s his number so I can call him for you?”

“Oh…” Rachel mutters, frowning. “Well, technically speaking, he doesn’t have a phone, so you can’t call him.”

“Wait, technically? What does that mean?”

“I mean he does, but not in the way that you need it to be.”

Once again, Jim finds himself blinking in disbelief. _“Is this girl under the influence?”_ He wonders, putting his cellular phone away. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to ask. Are you on anything?”

Her eyes widened slightly, before waving him off with a chuckle. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no. I don’t do drugs. Or alcohol. I’m just quirky.”

Another blink, and Jim decided it might be time to leave. “Okay, let’s go.” He said quickly, gesturing for her to get off the car. Which she does with great ease.

“Where are we going?” She asks, as he grabs her gently by the shoulder, guiding her to his car.

“To the station. We’re going to get this straightened out.”

“Me? Or this situation? Because if it’s me, then you’re going to have a hard time finding anything on me.” 

He doesn’t say anything about that, and ends up staying silent on the rest of the way, only reciting her Miranda rights before putting her in the back seat of his car. He hops into the driver seat, starting it up, ignoring the fact that she had leaned forward and over the passenger seat chair to look at him. 

“What’s going on inside that head of yours, Jimmy? You’re always in thought when I see you.” She asked, swimmingly as they started driving down the road.

Jim furrowed his brows at her choice of words, but brushed it aside, looking at it as an opportunity for more answers. “I’m thinking about how I’m going to contact your father. Can you give me his address?”

“The address is a similar answer as the phone one. He technically has an address, but not the one that you need.” She replies, tilting her head at him. “And might I say, besides missing a few wrinkles, you look exactly the same.”

“The same?” He spares her a quick glance of confusion, “You’re talking like we know each other.”

“Oh, we do.”

“We do? How? When did we meet?”

As the car rolled to a stoplight, she answered, “In about Fifteen, twenty years, give or take.”

“What?” Jim said, turning his body around to face her. He watches her lean back into the seat, looking completely relaxed as she stretches her arms.

“Man, I forgot old cars had these weird leather seats and wood interior. Definitely not my style.” She says, seemingly oblivious to his reaction. She only spares him another glance to say, “Green Light by the way, Jim.” 

The police detective batted his eyes again, only turning around when the car behind him sounded its horn. He starts driving again, occasionally looking back at her through his rear view mirror. She just seemed so happy, and carefree. A sassy little thing, with a bit of a tongue that made his head spin. There was something about this girl he couldn’t quite put his finger on, and wasn’t sure which way to lean. She obviously had a father, or least she claims she does, but how come she doesn’t want him to call? Or to find out where she lives? Is she actually homeless? An orphan? And what’s with this weird future tense talk? She makes it seem like _-and claims like-_ they’re buddy buddies, which makes _zero_ sense. He’s not friends with any kids, apart from Bruce, and if he was, he would have definitely remembered someone as outgoing as her.

_“Maybe she really is from Juvie. That could explain the assault.”_ Jim thinks to himself, pursing his lips at how wrong that sounded. _“However, that doesn’t make any sense. If she was in Juvie, then why cause a major scene, and get the police involved? And willingly? Something’s not adding up?”_

Jim stops the car after stopping in a parking spot. “We’re here.” He says, getting out and coming around to open the back door. Once again, he gently grabbed her by the arm, escorting her inside. 

“Whoa…” Rachel said, her eyes lighting up with wonder as she takes the main area in. “Does anything in this city not change anything? This place looks the same as well.”

“This way, please.” He pulls her up the stairs near the empty captain office, sensing the kid staring back at him.

“Where are we going? I thought you were going to put me in a holding cell or something?” 

“We need to get your nose looked at first, make sure it's not broken.”

“Oh, I can assure you that it’s not. I’ve had my nose busted a few times beforehand.” Rachel replies with ease, and Jim gives her a strange look as they pass by a few detectives. She smiles and waves. “Hi, Harper!” 

The woman gave her the same strange glance that Jim gave her, but Rachel seemed unfazed by it (or didn’t care). “She was always so nice to me.” She continues, as they come down a hallway, spotting a door. “A forensic lab?” 

Jim knocks a few times, waiting for someone to tell them to come in before turning the doorknob. “Lucius.” He said, getting his friend’s attention.

“Jim. What brings you here?” He asks, his line of sight shifting over to the only girl in the room. “And who’s that, might I ask?”

“This is Rachel. A girl who got involved in a fight, and I was planning on taking her into the investigation room, but I noticed that her nose is bruised badly.” Jim replies, looking a bit apologetic at his next few words. “Look, I know you’re not in medicine, but you’re literally the closest person here to a doctor. So do you mind if you take a look at her nose? Make sure that it’s not busted?”

“Sure.” Lucius says, gesturing to his desk chair. “Please have a seat.”

Rachel complies, and waits patiently as he comes over, carefully touching her the bridge of her nose. 

She raises both her eyebrows in surprise, curiosity also bestowed upon her face. “You haven't aged a bit either, Lucius. Apart from the gray hair of course.”

He pauses, and it was his turn to give her a strange look. “I’m sorry, but have we met?”

“Not yet. It’ll be years from now, so we still have time to meet again.”

He spares Jim a look, while his tiresome friend just gave him a shrug. Turning back to his work, he continues on for any signs of damage. “Hmm… I don’t feel anything that could be broken. I think it’s just severely bruised.” He breaks away for a few seconds, grabbing a paper towel and running it under some water, before coming back to wipe the spots of blood on her face. “Has it bled anymore since you got this injury?”

“No, it hasn’t.” Rachel says.

“Good. But if it does, just tilt your head back. And make sure you get an ice pack, okay?”

She gives him a thumbs up, and a smile. “Sounds good to me.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Jim cuts in, gesturing for her to get up and follow. “Thank you, Lucius.”

“No problem. Take care.” Lucius said, as the girl gave him a wave goodbye. 

Rachel was brought down back in the front, and passed the holding cells that were packed with criminals. Jim made her sit down in another open chair by the desk, telling the cop there to take her finger prints. 

“Is this really necessary?” She asks, a worry glint in her eyes.

“We need to take fingerprints of all the people we take into the station.” He replies, picking up on the different emotion she was trying to suddenly hide. 

The cop dipped her fingertips in the ink, pressing them onto the special paper to make an imprint. “All done. You can take her in the back now.” He says, as Jim grabs her by the arm again. “Oh, and Detective? Since we got so many goons brought in this morning, it may take me some time before I process hers, okay?” 

“Understandable. Thank you.” 

*****Break*****

Jim pulls the chair out, sitting down across from Rachel in the interrogation room. “Alright Rachel, I need you to tell me everything that has happened at that diner last night, and why it did.” 

“I already told you.” Rachel said, leaning back in her chair. “I needed to get the GCPD, specifically _you_ or _Harvey Bullock’s,_ attention. That’s why I sucker punched that guy.” She pauses to give it another thought. “Although, he was kind of a dick to the server, so maybe I did some good?”

“But why get our attention? Why would you go through a drastic measure to get my attention? Or even Bullock’s for that matter? You seem like you know everyone around here?”

She shrugs a bit. “More or less. I’ll tell you everything, as long as you’ll believe my every word; because frankly, I’ve never lied to you once.”

“You’ll tell me everything?” He asks, skeptical.

“Only if you believe me.” She says, her eyes quickly glancing at the one way glass. “But this has to stay between us. Is anyone on the other side?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “Everyone here is either busy dealing with this criminal uprising outside, or is stuck doing paperwork out front.”

“So will you keep this between us?”

“If that’s what you want, then yes. Tell me everything, Rachel.”

The girl takes a deep breath, and then a chilling exhale. “Okay-” She leans forward, her cuffed hands lacing together, her shoulders squaring straight. “To basically summon everything up, I’m not supposed to be here. I was born just before the turn of the next century, which was December 1st 1999. Flash forward to 2012, I was at a party with my father, and before any of us knew it, we all saw this big white light. 

“After that, I woke up alone on a rooftop in 1995’s Gotham. I threw the dress I was wearing away, and changed into some clothes I stole off a clothesline, and then went into the diner. I then waited a few hours before making a scene that caused some of the police to be there. Period.” 

She tilts her head to the side, making sure he was following, checking out his emotionless face for any giveaways. “That’s all pretty crazy. Right, Jim?” Rachel finishes, all with whole hearted honesty.

His face remained expressionless, but the lump he swallowed in his throat was very visible. He too leans forward a bit, as he tries to wrap his head around her story. “Are you telling me you’re from the _future?”_

“Yes. I am.”

He smacks his lips at her dead serious expression, deciding what must be done this instant. “Okay, you stay here.” Jim says, standing up from the uncomfortable metal chairs.

“Wait. Where are you going?” She asked, becoming worried again.

“Look, you honestly seem like a really nice girl, but I ain’t buying your act or whatever this is. You sound like you need some help, so I’m going to get one of the officer’s to help me find out where your dad is, or I’m going to have to get on the phone and find you a therapist. You stay here.”

“Jim, you can’t.” She shakes her head, her eyes showing off some kind of fear he couldn’t put his finger on (maybe she really was a runaway and doesn't want to go home?). “They aren’t going to find anything on me. I don’t even exist right now!”

“Tell that to your father when we find him.”

He continues to walk for the door, thinking this would be all said and done. But that all changed in an instant, it all changed in the next sentence she spoke. With his hand on the doorknob, he heard-

“I know what Bruce Wayne did in Arkham Asylum a few weeks back.” 

Jim froze, his whole stomach dropping at the mere mention of it. 

No one knew. 

No one knew except for the kid’s guardian, Alfred.

No one was supposed to know what happened back then.

So how did she know that?

He immediately turns around, seeing her scared expression that had a hint of that dead seriousness she had on earlier. Her words ate at his skin, making him anxious for answers. He marched right back over, nearly stumbling back into own chair, leaning in close again.

“What did you just say?” He asks, wanting to hear it again. Maybe she was just joking. Maybe she was confused by something about Bruce Wayne on TV. Or maybe she really is a bit delusional after all. But there was no way she could have known what had happened underneath Arkham.

Her eyes glanced at the glass again, as she also leaned close again to whisper. “I know what he did in Arkham. I know he killed Ra’s Al Ghul.”

“How?” He asked, his stomach tying itself into many knots. “How do you know that? Not even Harvey knows this, and he’s my best friend.”

“I told you, believe it or not, I am from the future. How much more do you want me to say?” She replies, stopping to think for a moment. “Okay, where’s Harvey?”

“He’s in the hospital from an injury he got on the job.” He raises an eyebrow. “Why?” His question went unanswered as she continued to babble on.

“So he’s in the hospital, and it’s 95, so…” Rachel perks up and snaps her fingers, before pointing at the police detective. “Professor Pyg. I remember reading an article on it. Even Harvey told me the story about how the Pyg got you both captured in his grasp, and that the Pyg injured him.”

“That just happened last night.” Jim says, his voice so low in disbelief. “We haven’t even released that into the public yet. How do you-”

“Because I’m telling you the truth. I really am.”

“I… I d-don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to believe. There’s no way you should know any of this. Where are you getting this information from?”

There was a brief pause between them, allowing Rachel’s voice to turn calming and almost soothing as she tried to convince him one last time. “You woke up in the hospital 48 hours after a supposed drunk driver hit you and your dad.” His eyes looked straight into hers at the mention of the ‘accident’, and suddenly found himself in a trance to listen closely as she continues, 

“Your mom was there, she was holding your hand until you woke up. She was also the one that told you were the only one left. You started getting night terrors soon after that, and your mom would always hold you until you were calmer.” Rachel pauses again, and Jim notices she almost looked choked up at the story herself. “However, when your mother wasn't there, you always hugged this… polka dot teddy bear that you got at the-”

“-Gotham annual carnival.” Jim finishes in a low whisper. His heart ached and his chest tightened at the tale. _His own tale_. “They held one every year on the pier. My father would always take me. He even won that for me at a…” He swallows. “At a… um…”

“At a ring toss game.” Rachel replies, that dead serious look returning more. However, she was holding a sympathetic look specifically for Jim, as she tried to hold back some sad feelings of her own. “And you’re probably wondering how I know that? It’s because I know you, Jim. I really do. And if you still don’t believe me, that’s fine too. All I need is for your help, I need you to help me out because I have no idea how I got here, and I have no idea what’s going on.”

She pauses again, and looks like she might just burst into tears if you touched her, just as she started to plead. “So please, if you aren’t going to help me with that, at least let me stay with you. You are the only person here I know I can trust completely with my life. But if you can’t even do that, then you need to let me walk out that door right now, and drop any charges you have against me. Please, Jim. I really need you right now.” 

With two pairs of blue eyes meeting together, Jim could immediately tell this wasn’t just an act. It was a feeling he had deep in his gut, and it was telling him that the sadness and fear she wore on her face wasn’t a facade. She was genuinely afraid, and was on the verge of tears. This was a scared child who looked like she couldn’t find her parents in a huge crowd, or a child who couldn’t be left alone in the dark. It was a child who needed help, someone who looks lost. 

Memories from that alleyway a few years back came flooding in. He remembers finding that poor boy shivering from the cold and pure shock from what he had just witnessed. He remembers giving him a hug, and comforting him until his new appointed guardian arrived. And for some strange reason, Jim feels like he’s having a case of déjà vu when he looks at this girl. He also gets hit with the same kind of sense of protection that he always had around Bruce, a sense of almost being parental, and he desperately wanted to do the same for Rachel.

With any of thoughts or any hesitation, he never looked away from her once, as he let his voice go back to being professional. With shoulder stiff and straight, he asks, 

“What do you need me to do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theories? Questions? Just write them down below if you have any. I would loved to hear. 
> 
> **(Side note: The reason I chose 2012 (and the reason on Rachel's personality) is because this story can be lined up with Young Justice. But don't worry, you don't have to watch the TV show to understand this, you just have to watched Gotham :)**
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Tales Of New Gotham

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel tells Jim about the future.

Twenty minutes flew by, and Jim still hasn’t returned to the interrogation room she was left in. Bored out of her mind she had nothing else to do, except give into her nasty habit of chewing on pens when it came to waiting in anxiousness. Rachel had managed to swipe a pen from his shirt before he disappeared, and was gnawing the top of it while picking the handcuffs’ lock with the other side. She frowned a bit, proving to be a more difficult task than she thought.

 _“This would be so much easier if I had my utility belt.”_ She told herself, upset at these unfortunate events that she still had no idea how they occurred.

_“If I only travel back here in my suit, this would have been SO much easier, but no. Of course I had to be at that charity event. Now look at me, I’m wearing some homeless guy’s shoes while he’s probably getting high with the ring I gave him. Figures.”_

Before she could complain anymore, her mind started to wonder about the one thing she needed answering. And that was how she actually got here. I mean… Her? Time Travel? Hell, she doesn’t even have any superpowers the last time she checked. Because if it isn’t her, who has the power to turn back the clock?

 _“Hmm.. The last time I checked, there aren’t any villains in Gotham who can time travel. So is it someone from outside the city?”_ People’s names started coming through, and she gave each and everyone a lot of thought. _“It can’t be Wally, he hasn’t been able to, nor trained, to do that yet. So could it be Barry? Or is this the Reverse Flash’s doing?”_

Rachel shakes her head a bit, coming to terms that this might not be any of those three doings, so she moves on to other people.

_“Superman can spin the Earth and change time, but can he really go back that far? And can he actually move future citizens to the past?”_

Well that was a stupid question.

Superman can do a lot of things, but he can’t do that.

 _“Then who then? If Superman can’t do it, then that counts Supergirl out.”_ She raises an eyebrow at herself. _“Doctor Fate, maybe? Can his magic even do that?”_

With the click of the cuffs, it became unlocked. A tired sigh left her lips as her thoughts suddenly dissolved. Sliding the cuffs off, and laying them in her lap as she leans back and looks up.

“I really have no idea what’s going on.” She whispers, staring at the cracks on the ceiling, getting a feeling of nostalgia. “This place really has stayed the same, huh? I kind of… glad.”

The door to the room opens, and Rachel looks up to see Jim coming back in, and she could immediately tell he was in his own head again.

“Problem, Jim?” She asks, curiously.

“No, there’s no problem.” He says, truthfully. “Sorry for the wait, It took me a while to grab your fingerprints without anybody noticing.”

“That’s understandable. Are we going?”

“Yes, we’ll go out the back door so nobody notices. And I’ll the cuffs off if you-”

“Already way ahead of you.” She shows off the handcuffs that are now dangling freely from her fingertips.

Jim blinks confusedly. “How’d you do that?”

“I have my ways.” She stands up and shows off his pen in her other hand with a huge smirk on her face.

With that all said and done, the detective didn’t question any further, and just told her to follow. Rachel follows him down the back hallway, staying close and laying low in case anybody else was nearby and ready to cross their paths. Luckily for them, nobody was, and it was a straight shot outside. The strange duo walked among the back of the building for a bit, before turning the corner to head for the main street where his car was.

“So where exactly are you taking me?” Rachel asks, looking up at him.

Jim, who now notices she was on the short side, looks down at her, giving her a comforting expression. “Home. My home.” He clarifies, quickly. “It’s big enough, and hidden.”

“Is that the one level apartment? The one that’s deep in the city?”

He nods. “Yeah, that’s the one. How’d you do that? Do I still live there?”

Jim starts to wonder about his home. There’s no way he still lives in that sad apartment 20 something years later, there’s no fucking way. Yeah, it’s cheap and he has a roof over his head, but it’s not the best place to be living. It needs a lot of repairs, and the street it’s on is not the best. He starts to wonder... Does he not have a life in the future if he is still living _there?_

“Oh no. You live somewhere much better.” Rachel cleared up, giving the man some hope for his future self.

“Then how did you know that?” He asks, intrigued by her knowledge.

“You showed me one time, and talked about how bad your plumbing was.”

Jim chuckles. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s definitely the one.”

She smiles, keeping that curious look in her eye. “You also mention you were a PI before?”

His face falters, remembering those times. “Eh… PI slash… Bounty hunter, I guess.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Bounty hunter? Why that?”

“I wanted to do my own thing for a while, I thought I could make a difference that way in Gotham, but uh… I guess being a cop was my true calling.” He fishes out his keys, unlocking the doors. He went to bend down to slide in his seat, but the young girl caught his attention again.

“You know, you still are making a difference.” She replies, watching his eyes meet hers over the top of the car. She gives him a reassuring look, standing steady on her tippy toes to make sure he was really listening. “Just thought I let you know that. You’re a damn good cop, Jim Gordon.”

She hopes into the car, leaving him in a sense of awe that he was doing alright twenty years from now. He gets into the car as well, and they soon find themselves back on the road. Rachel let her head rest against the window, watching the world go by with her tired looking eyes. That’s when Jim starts to notice the bags under her blue orbs, and starts to wonder if she got any sleep at that diner last night. He opens his mouth to speak, but once again he’s beaten by her.

“How’s Harvey?” She blurts out, casting him a side glance.

Jim, already guessing she knew the answer, replied, “He’ll pull through. He always does.”

She raises a slight eyebrow, catching something in his blue orbs. “What’s with that look? Did he do something? Or did you guys get into a fight?”

He shakes his head. “No. I’m just mad at him.”

“Why?”

“Because I found out last night that he took some of Penguin’s blood money.”

“Blood money?”

“Yeah.” He lets out a frustrated sigh. “It’s always Penguin. I don’t know how he is in your timeline, but he’s _everywhere_ and he’s in _everything._ Between this, and the license crimes, and running the underworld it’s.. Crazy.”

“License crime?” She said, before the realization hits. She frowns, and makes an odd facial expression before saying, “Oh no. Is this when he did that whole ‘Pax Penguina’ bullshit?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” He chuckles. “Not a fan, I assume?”

“You assume correctly. It’s stupid. Is that still going on?”

“As far as I’m concerned, yes.”

“Great.”

They fell back into silence, and Jim let his parental instincts take over again, remembering how many hours the girl spent at that diner alone. With a quick thinking, he turns down a different street.

“Hey,” He begins, getting her attention. “You hungry?”

*****Break*****

The door creaked open, and in came two cackling individuals.

“So, while you busted the guy, Harvey kept eating the burger?” Rachel asked, turning around to get a better look at him.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t his. It was the crook I was arresting, food.” Jim said, closing the door.

“Ew. That’s gross.” Her nose scrunched in disgust as she took a sip of her large beverage.

“Speaking of that. How was it? I hope it wasn’t too out of the element for you.”

She shrugs. “It was good. It was a nice change instead of having either canned or gourmet food. Not complaining about that though.”

“Gourmet?”

“My Grandfather likes to cook. I’m surprised he’s not a chef because of it.”

“I see.”

While Jim started to empty his pockets and shrugged off his coat, Rachel took a look around the rooms. Small, but reasonable. A bit messy, but doable. He notices her scanning face, watching her walk into the living room.

“It’s not as bad as you make it sound like.” She replies, setting her drink down on the coffee table.

“Oh, yeah?” He says, leaning against the door frame. “I hope it doesn’t smell like a boy in here too much.”

She scoffs and shakes her head at his attempted joke. “I’ve lived with two guys, and I’m friends with a lot of guys. I think I'm pretty much immune to the whole ‘boy room’ smell.” She sits down on his couch, leaning back to relax.

“Poor you.”

“Poor me.”

He comes to sit down beside her, stretching his arms out a bit. “Enough stories about me, what about your life?”

“Well, what do you want to know about my life?” She asks.

“Well…” He pauses to think of a question, pursing his lips in thought. “Uh… what’s new Gotham like?”

“What’s it like? Eh…” She shrugs again. “It’s nothing special, really. Everything pretty much looks the same after all these years. And yeah, there’s some new buildings, but they don’t really stand out.”

“So it’s bland and boring?”

“Pretty much.”

“What about the crime? I don’t know if my future self has told you this, but crime in this city if at ten folds at this point with all these new villains.”

 _“Superpowered_ villains?” Rachel asks, quirking her head in his direction.

He nods. “Some, but yes.”

“In my time we call those metahumans. Those guys are _everywhere_ , good or bad. Possibility ten times ten folds.”

“Metahumans?” Jim says, testing out the foreign word. His forehead soon becomes etched with worry lines at the mention of them being everywhere. “You’re not one, are you?”

Another scoff, and she held her hands up in defense. “Oh no, I'm normal. No superpowers here. Although, it’s kind of strange that most of my friends are metahumans.” She grabs her cup to take a sip, but decides to say one more thing before doing so. “Well, some are metahumans, some aliens. One’s an atlantean.”

Jim froze in his chair, staring at her with a surprised expression. “I’m sorry… but did you just say _aliens?”_ He asked, making sure his true emotion came through on those words.

Rachel nods. “Yep. But they're probably not exactly what you think.” She says, taking another sip. “Maybe… I shouldn’t be telling you too much. I don’t really know how all these time travel things work.” Another sip, and the drink was now finished with a sigh.

“Do you like it?” Jim asks, out of the blue.

“Like what?”

“Gotham. Even with all this stuff going on in your time, do you still like it?” He asks again, watching her with hidden pity. _“Gotham’s really no place for children.”_

She nods slowly. “It’s… It’s a lot different from what I’m used to. You see I wasn’t born here, but I'm kind of grateful that I live here now. Yes, it’s a dark and gruesome city, but there is this… what did you say to me that one time?” She pauses to think, leaving Jim more intrigue then before. “There’s this… light, and I don’t think a lot of people see it sometimes.”

“I told you that?” His mind recalls telling Bruce that when they first met. Was this like his future self’s quote now?

“Yeah. You did.” Her azure colored eyes drifted off for a moment, remembering the night of April 1st, 2008. She still remembers the commissioner putting his coat around her while the rest of the police interview the circus folks. Her family. The ones that didn’t want her.

“Hey.” Jim said, touching her shoulder. It quickly caught her attention. “You okay?”

“Fine. I just space out.” Rachel says. “Sorry.”

“You’re probably just tired.” He gets up off the couch, still looking at her. “I’ll see if I can find you some clothes that might fit, and if you want, you can take a shower?”

She smiles. “I’d liked that.”

He returns the gesture, and heads off into his bedroom to see what he could find. However, he doesn't exactly have clothes to fit a teenage girl.

 _“Well this is going to be difficult.”_ Jim thought, as he rummage through his closet and drawers. Eventually he settled for a large shirt, and even found some clothes that an old girlfriend left behind which might work better. _“I guess we’re definitely going to have to go clothes shopping tomorrow.”_

With the clothes in his arms, he headed back out in the hallway. “I hope you don’t mind this shirt with the sharks on it. It’s a little too big, but you can wear it as a nightgown, Or I still have some of Lee’s old clo-” He trails off when he enters the living room, finding the girl already curled up and asleep on his couch.

Jim felt his face soften, grateful that she’s finally getting some sleep. He puts the clothes on a nearby chair, before fetching a blanket. Before tossing it on her, he reached down and took off her shoes. He frowns at how bad they smelled, and how big they really were.

 _“Note to self, I’m getting you some new shoes too.”_ He throws the wool comforter over, and turns the lights off. With a quick glance at her, he comes to a sudden realization.

And that was what he was going to do with her. How was he supposed to take care of a child he did not know?

A sigh left his lips as he wondered, _“What am I going to do?”_

*****Break*****

_Cold and windy. Depressing and unkind. Fear and Darkness. That's what it felt like to be sitting there. All alone while police officers swarmed around her, ignoring her as her family members shouted and pointed. She tried to block them out, but it was hard. Very hard._

_It was a simple question they were asked, and they had to tell the truth. All they were asked was what they were going to do with her? And they exploded._

_**“We can’t take her! She’ll slow us down.”** _

_**“She’s a disgrace. Being born between two families that are completely the opposite!”** _

_**“She’ll be dead weight. We can’t have an emotionally dependable child on our world tours.”** _

_She listened, but didn’t wept. Her body still feels numb from the event she just witnessed. Time passed rather quickly that she barely registered that someone was speaking to her, someone with a kind voice._

_**“My name’s Jim Gordon. I’m the Commissioner.”** _

_Her eyes finally moved after being glued to the ground. Her body still shaking slightly on the bench she was resting at. He was tall, lean, blondish hair with steel blue eyes. She saw his badge on his hip next to his holster, and a pair of glasses tucked in his coat pocket. Stubbles on his face, and deep eyebags to show off how tired he was. She said nothing and looked down again. She could soon sense him sitting down_

_**“Can you tell me your name?”** He asks, softly. _

_Her eyes move again, only this time to the black sheet about twenty feet away, hiding underneath a broken trapeze. She shuttered, and held back an urge to cry again. She suddenly felt him shift next to her, and before she knew it his trench coat was placed around her small form. She also felt his comforting hands on her shoulder._

_**“It’s okay, you don’t have to talk.”** He continues, his voice staying the same throughout the whole way. **“You can take your time, I understand.”**_

_Her lip quivered, and her hands fidget beside her because she couldn’t look away from that sheet. It happens so fast. Her father’s concerned face. Her mother’s look of apology as they both hurdle to the ground fast. The crowd was screaming and gasping. And all she remembered was falling to her knees in utter shock, and then balling out into a painful cry._

_Her name._

_He was asking for her name._

_**“R-Rachel.”** She croaks in a hoarse voice. **“M-My name’s Rachel Grayson.”** She felt him stiffen slightly, making her wonder why._

_**“Grayson, you say?”** He asks, his voice holding back a tiny shake. She can hear it, even with all this noise going on around them._

_**“You-You know th-them… Mr. Gordon?”** _

_**“I do. I met them when they came to do a show here over fifteen years ago.”** He pauses and she senses him looking at her again. **“Who were your parents?”**_

_She too pauses, only this time to move her eyes away from the sheet. **“Mary and John Grayson.”** She felt him freeze, before his hands gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze._

_**“I knew those two before they got married. In fact, I saved their marriage.”** _

_She perks up, finally looking at him with full attention. **“You did? How?”**_

_**“Well… let’s just say your family was being accused of something they didn’t do, and I ended up finding out who it really was. In the end, they put their differences aside, and the Lloyds and Graysons got married into one another.”** _

_She frowns. **“Yeah. But not everyone could put their differences aside.”** She makes sure he’s following her eyes, looking straight at her remaining family members. **“They don’t like me. They never have. I doubt anyone would take me in.”** She gives a humorless chuckle. **“The Lloyds don’t like my Grayson blood, and the Graysons don’t like my Lloyd blood. Nothing will ever be right with me for them. I’m an orphan.”**_

_Jim looked taken back by her words, and she could see almost a hint of anger in his eyes when she spoke about her bloodline. Angry? Why would he be angry? She couldn’t understand why._

_He opened his mouth to speak after jumbling on them, but a cop in the distance called him over. He sighs, and gives her shoulders another comforting squeeze. **“I’ll be back. Try not to move, okay?”**_

_He walks away, and she listens to what they were saying. She heard him ask what was the problem, and the horrible words began shortly after that._

_**“What do you mean she can’t stay in the police department overnight?”** He asked, dumbfounded by what he was hearing._

_**“They won’t let her. Since she’s a foreigner and a minor, they want her to say in a Juvenile detention center until we get this sorted out.”** The other cop claimed, making Jim shake his head._

_**“No. No. Juvie? Are you crazy?! I rather have them place her in an orphanage before we even consider that!”** _

_**“I’m sorry, but this only option.”** _

_**“I’m the police commissioner! Can I do something?”** _

_**“I don’t, boss. But we have to-”** _

_She just blocks it afterwards, because what’s the point in listening to all this? Nobody wanted her. Whether that was because she had “dirty blood” or she was a foreigner and seen as a threat? It was a load of bull, but there was nothing she could do while that nice man tried to defend her (and unfortunately will probably lose the battle)._

_She didn’t know how much time had passed again, and she almost didn’t notice that someone entirely different had approached her. Judging by this man’s clothing, he didn’t look like he belonged here, with the circus or the GCPD. So where did he come from with his neatly slicked back coal colored hair, and deep brown eyes? He quickly knelt down in front of her, his face looking softly at her like Jim did, but his eyes held something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on._

_**“Are you Rachel?”** He asks, his voice very mature sounding, but very gentle and really kind. _

_Not trusting her voice, she nods slowly, being captivating by his aura. He smiles just a bit, tilting his head slightly._

_**“Hi, Rachel.”** He holds out his gloved hand. **“I’m Bruce Wayne.”**_

_._

_._

_._

_.  
_With a gasp that sounded like someone was choking on air, she bolted upright with widened eyes. With her hair sticking to her sweaty face, cloudy orbs searched the room she was in.

It was a living room, but not her own.

Realization struck her gut, and she felt her whole being become numb and frozen.

It wasn’t another dream.

It wasn’t another nightmare.

This was real.

She was stuck in a past that she didn’t know how to handle. She was here, and her father… well… who even knows, but he’s definitely not _here._

With her lower lip quivering as she sucks in a sob, before bringing her knees close to her and shaking. 

__"Damn it.”__ She thought, her mind racing for the right answer. __“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always kind of wonder what would have happened with remaining flying Graysons. In the Gotham show, the Lloyds and the Graysons were always butting heads, and seemed like they really hated each other. So what would have happen when Mary and John got married? Do you think that would have all gone away? In my opinion, probably not, so that's why I did bit of the flash fowards (which isn't the last).
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! And what do you think will happen next?


	4. Little White Lie(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel meets a familiar face, Jim starts to get a hold of this "dad" thing, and a villain shows up?! Who?

As the clock struck five, the little raven haired girl walked around the house as quiet as a mouse. Surprised that Jim had taken her shoes off and threw a blanket over her. But what wasn’t a surprise though, was that she wasn’t going to get a lot of sleep like usual. Nightmares were a common thing with her, so it rarely caught her off guard. Usually when that happens, she either hears footsteps scurrying across the hallway outside her bedroom, mostly one or sometimes two figures would appear.

Her grandfather would sometimes rush in with the gun that seemed to be always glued to his hands, scanning around the room with a panic to see who was causing her to scream. When he realizes what was going on, the fear in his eyes would soften, and he would always offer her a drink or maybe something to eat. Astonishingly, it does help. She can practically still taste the warm milk or honey tea in her mouth, while she takes a bite of his world famous cookies. That’s what he would do, but sometimes he wasn’t the one who was standing in the doorway first. 

Sometimes she felt huge arms around her for an embrace, or her father would sit beside her and calm her with his words. She could still feel his hands in her hair to soothe her; sometimes they were bare or were made of leather, but either way it was a nice feeling. Occasionally he would stay and sleep in the giant chair beside her bed to help her go back to her dreams. 

However, he wasn’t here. Nobody she knew from her time was ‘here’. 

So now all she can do is roam a house she does not know. All she can do is explore the night as she let the poor owner sleep. Rachel picked up the clothes that she assumed Jim had picked out for her, eyeing them carefully. He had given her two options. One, a giant oversize shirt with tiny sharks on it.

She chuckled quietly. _“I guess Jim really isn’t all that serious.”_

Option two looks like it was a set of women's casual clothes. Some stretchy pants and a nice shirt. She looked at it carefully, and caught a whiff of a lingering perfume that smelled like citrus and berry. She recognized it almost immediately.

_“Huh. She’s still using this perfume.”_ Rachel told herself, taking another look at the clothing. _“Although… Lee’s taller than I am, I’m not even sure if this will work.”_ She lays them back down. _“I’ll try them on later.”_

She finds herself wandering again, taking the presence of everything not in her modern era. Between furniture, structure work, and little knickknacks all over the place, this time definitely was different. The thing that caught her attention the most, was the huge white box sitting on a nearby desk. She strolled right up to it, noticing it had a keyboard and mouse plugged into it. 

She furrowed her eyebrows. _“Is this a computer?”_ Her blue eyes spot a name of a famous tech company inscription on it. _“It is. How old is this thing?”_ She grips the sides gently, taking a look at it. _“Can you even hack on this thing?”_

They have to… right? Or how else would they be able to find someone? Rachel seemed to have to continue to remind herself that this was a different time, and that means things were different back then. Like the telephone that was still attached to a cord, the bulky and colorful refrigerator, and the flip phone she saw on Jim’s nightstand. It was all strange and out of place. It was weird as well.

Sighing, she decides that she needs to get out and stretch. Walking over to the door, she opened as quietly as she could, the small voice in the back of her head wondered if it was a good idea to sneak out of a police officer’s house? But when the door swung open, and even with the squeaky hinges, she never heard him stir. Letting out the small breath she was holding, she left the apartment.

Now in the open, she could feel a bit of sunlight, but it was still somewhat dark outside. Rachel looked around for a way to get high, and quickly noticed some bricks on the building across from her were sticking out of the wall, and noticed that the windows were outlined in thick trim. Using her skills, she ran and scaled the 10 story building in no time. Standing up tall, with the cool breeze in her hair, she smirked. Now this is how she spent time in Gotham. 

She pushed off her bare heels and ran, jumping from one rooftop to another. The city’s light reflected off her eyes, she took a look at the world that was the same but yet so different to her. Her blue orbs caught glimpse of buildings that weren’t there in her time, it made her have almost a nostalgic feeling. It was… nice.

After running for what felt like hours, her feet getting sore and bruised, but she didn’t care. The pain was nothing compared to what she’s been through before. Standing tall and at the edge again, she looks deep into the city. Her heartstrings tugged when she saw the clocktower. She remembers Bullock telling her about the new Joker who decided to blow up with a bomb he made. It happened right before his eyes, and right before Gotham became an island. Sad. And to think it was going to happen in just a few months makes it even worse.

She swallows, and looks away, and now she couldn’t help but notice all the other buildings that fell victim to explosions or worse. She still recalls when her friend asked her what’s so bad about Gotham. Still not wanting to hurt her greatly, Rachel half lied about it. She just told Miss Martian it wasn’t a nice city, and that you could get hurt if you're not street smart. In a way, the more she thought about it, it wasn’t that far from the truth. However, It was still not a good feeling to have.

_“So much for making myself feel better.”_ She thought, ignoring as the sun started to beat down upon her. She also didn’t notice the presence of someone creeping up from behind. _“The city feels different than yesterday too. I wonder why-”_

“Are you lost or something, kid?”

Rachel perked up, and bolted around with her hands in a fist. She met with someone tall (Why is everyone so much taller than her? It was unfair), curly hair, striking green eyes, and was wearing black leather.

Oh… she knew this person. Crap.

She relaxes, and keeps a straight face. “No. Not lost.” She replies, truthfully.

The other girl spotted her bare feet, and gestured. “Homeless?”

Rachel shakes her head. “No. I just like to run around without shoes. You?” She already knew the answer, but what the heck, she already exposed herself to Jim, so why not miss Kyle? Even if it was just a little bit.

“So, so.” Selina said, with her hands. “But back to you. If you aren’t homeless, then why are you on a rooftop?”

“Like I said, I like to run. It clears my head.” 

“But… why the roof?”

Rachel shrugs, and starts walking by her. “It reminds me of home.”

Selina raises an eyebrow. “Oh, so you’re not from around here?”

“I didn’t say that. I know Gotham well enough.” She smirks as she could practically see the wheels turning in the cat’s head. It was always so much fun to mess with her. She chuckles. “What? Not feeling the aster? 

She blinks. “Aster?” 

“Just a little joke I have with my friends.” Butchering the english language was always so much fun. “Anyway, before you start lecturing me or anything, I just want to say I don’t need it; And uh… have fun at the Sirens.”

Selina’s face turns into surprise. “Wait, how’d you know about the-”

“Like I said, I know Gotham.” Rachel says, glancing back at her. “Anyway, see you around, Cat.” Another smirk, and she broke into a sprint to leap across a building. She swore she heard Selina gasp in surprise, but never looked back. _“Well that definitely something I wasn’t expecting.”_

Heading back where she belongs, she slipped inside the building just before eight. Rachel soon finds herself washing the scum off her feet in the bathroom, just as she heard Jim from the bedroom yawn. She smiles, and dries herself off before deciding to head into the kitchen. Her steady hands snatched a pink apple off the counter, and waited. Soon, a slightly groggy Mr. Gordon came strolling in, looking almost sorry. She also could still see the giant bags under his eyes too.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep that long.” He replies, heading for his coffee machine, turning it on.

“It’s fine.” Rachel says, leaning against the countertop. “I just got up myself.”

“Good. I’m glad you slept. You did sleep okay, right?”

“I did.” A lie, but he wasn’t looking into her eyes to know which was probably a good thing. She saved herself from being lectured by Selina, and she surely didn’t want one from Jim.

He hums in reply, and waits until his morning drink is made before continuing to speak. “Now listen, Rachel. I was thinking about whether we should head into town, get you some clothes that will fit.”

She snorts. “What? You don't like my stolen and oversize outfit?”

He raises an eyebrow, but let's one of the corners of his lips move upward. “Oversize is one thing, stolen is another. If we don’t do that, at least let me get you some shoes that’ll fit, and don’t smell.” 

“I bought it from a homeless guy. I wasn’t going to walk in those high heels I was wearing before I got transported here.”

“You bought something from a homeless person?”

She shrugs. “I gave a ring I was wearing in exchange for the shoes, he didn’t even hesitate.”

“Was it diamond?” He asked, confused on why that guy didn’t want straight up cash like most.

“Something like that.”

Another hum and he took a sip from his cup, eyeing the apple in her hand. “Do you want me to make you some breakfast? Or is that all you want?” 

She pauses mid bite, suddenly intrigued by the promise of food. “What do you got?”

“Does bacon and eggs sound okay?”

She smiles, her stomach almost rumbling at how hungry she felt. “Sounds perfect.”

*****Break*****

She held up one of the bags open, and close to her face. A few blinks in slight surprise before she turns to look up at Jim. “Are you sure you’re okay with buying all this?” She asks, a bit worried about the cost.

“Hey, I don’t know how long you’ll be staying here, so it’s better safe than sorry.” He replies, gently. 

“Making sure.” 

He waves her to follow him down the streets, and away from the clothing shop they stopped at. “We still need to figure out what happened to you.” He continues, his voice low and only for her to hear (Although, if the citizens heard someone talking about time travel, Jim’s pretty sure they wouldn’t bat an eye at the ‘crazy’ talk). “Any ideas how you got here? I know you said you saw a light.”

She purses her lips in thought. “I’ve been thinking about it, and honestly… I’m not sure. I started jogging my brain if it was caused by a villain, but nothing comes up.”

“No? That’s a shame.” Jim replies, thinking himself. “Can any of your friends that you mentioned to me last night time travel?”

“Eh… one of destined to do it, but never has. I already checked him off. Beides, even if he did, the way he would have to do it, he would be standing next to me right now.” Rachel answers, crossing a certain red head off her list. 

“Who has the ability to do that? And how?”

“You know…” She moves her arms back in forth lime she was an olympian runner. “He’s a speedster.”

“Speedster?”

“Yeah. Like… someone who can break the sound barrier in a single run.”

He blinked with widened eyes. “What? There’s people that can do that?”

“Why are you so surprised after everything I told you? I even told you about some of them not being _from_ this world, and you’re more shocked that someone can run really fast?”

He nods slowly. “Yeah… ‘cause a… _speedster_ …”

She scoffs, and shakes her head. “You’re hopeless, man.”

“How am I hopeless?”

“Well-” 

It seems like Rachel couldn’t catch a break when people cut her off today. She could barely even get a sentence strung together when someone else broke through her train of thought.

“Detective Gordon!”

The odd duo stopped in their tracks, looking straight where the voice was coming from. Alvarez. 

“Detective.” He continues, coming closer with a huge smile on his face. 

“A-Alvarez.” Jim said, mentally cursing that he stuttered out of surprise. “I didn’t think I’d see you out and about.”

“It’s my day off. Although, I’m surprised that you took a day off as well. And you were _willing_ , it sounds like.”

Jim puts on a happy face, and shrugs slightly. “Just felt like I needed one. Especially what happened with the Pyg.”

Alvarez nods. “Makes sense, I would have probably done the same.” His dark eyes find their way to the small girl beside the off duty detective. “Who’s this?”

Jim starts racking his brain (it was too early for this). “Uh…She’s um... ah..”

The cop tilts his head, thinking as well. “Say, you look like that-”

“My niece!” 

Rachel looked up with confusion and shock almost immediately after those words fell out of his mouth. _“Niece?”_ She thought, as the other cop seemed to feel the same way.

“Niece?” Alvarez says.

Jim nods. “Yep. She’s my sister’s kid.”

The confusion disappeared in an instant, and the joy filled smile he had on the earlier came back. “Oh, wow. I didn’t know you had one. Nor a sister.” 

“Yep. Older sister. This is Rachel.”

The teenager waves politely. “Hi.” 

“She might be the other reason why I took the day off.” Jim adds, seeing that this small lie was working. 

“Awe, man, Gordon. This is great. Family is always important.” Alvarez responds.

“You can say that again.”

A chuckle, and he takes a glance at his watch. “Well. I would love to stay and chat, but If I don’t bring my wife her coffee soon then it’ll be hell. I’ll see you at the station.”

“You too.” As he left, Jim let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding onto. _“That was a close one.”_

“So….” Rachel beings, getting his attention. “That’s the lie we’re going with?”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.”

She shrugs for the thousand times today. “It’s probably more believable than calling yourself my grandpa.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Grandpa?”

“Well you are older in my timeline than now, so… yeah. But-” She smirks and starts walking away again with her bags. “I usually just call you gramps.”

“Gramps?” He takes a moment to truly look at the girl, and recalls when she told him when she was born. 1999, and came here from 2012. _“So she’s fourteen? Or is about to be. So that means I would be…”_

He perks up, and starts jogging after the girl. “Hang on. I’m not that old! Am I?” He yells, and he hears her laugh that seemed to echo around the city.

*****Break*****

A quick little sneeze made the cop look up from his kitchen table, watching as the teenager just strolled out from a shower. The ends of her hair are still dripping wet, and sticking against the new shirt she got. 

“You’re water got cold.” She replies, her skin a bit pale and blue.

“Sorry. Bad plumbing, remember?” He said, apologetically.

“You need to move out, detective.” Rachel scoffs and slides out a chair next to him. 

“Oh, yeah? And when exactly do I get my new place of residence?”

“Um…” She pauses to think, and it shows up on her face. _“Jim lives in the GCPD after the bridges come down, and he doesn’t have a real home until he marries Lee. So…”_ She throws up her hand in an almost ‘I surrender’ way. “I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that story from you yet.”

“I see.” Jim said, looking a little disappointed. “I was hoping you tell me so I would have a date to look forward to.”

“You’ll get there soon, Jim. Now-” She leans against the table, spotting a menu in his hands. “Whatcha looking at?”

“Lunch.” 

“Don’t you mean _Linner?_ It’s after two.”

“Are you also this sarcastic?” 

She smirks. “Only with people I like. So what are our options?”

“Well, we got Italian or Chinese. Take your pick.”

She hums at how good they both sounded, but also was intrigued by a sudden thought. “I’m starting to think that eggs and bacon are the only things that you can cook.”

He chuckles, and sets the menu down. “How’d you know?”

“I have my ways.” Rachel replies, before looking at him with curiosity. “Has no one ever taught you?” 

He shakes his head. “No. My mom usually just made dinner, I never question how she did. And then I just got used to eating cans and freeze dried food when I was in the army.”

“I know that feeling.”

“Well tell me this about my future at least, do I know how to cook?”

She nods. “Yeah. I don’t know how, but you do eventually.”

“Thank whoever for that. It’s a skill that’ll be nice when I get company.” He picks up the menu again, reading the places over again. “Alright, back to lunch. What do you-”

The front door was kicked open so fast that they barely had any time to look. Although, the raven haired girl spotted something white and black, and her heart sank. 

“DUCK!!” She yells, before tackling him to the ground, avoiding the line of gun fire. 

The sound of glass cups breaking, bullets pelting the walls and the two of them started crawling away. Jim soon finds himself pulling her upright and close, as the two of them slouched against his couch in the living room. 

“Are you okay?” He asks, raising his voice slightly so she could hear him. He was answered by a grunt, so he took a look. Rachel could be seen fighting back a chance to scream, as she held a firm grip on her upper arm, as blood was seeping through her fingers. “Shit…” He continues, now in a low whisper.

“I’m fine. It’s just a graze.” She manages to say, just before the round of ammo comes to a halt.

A few men were heard laughing quietly, before a voice called out in a song like way.

_“Commissioner…._ Where are you?” Someone sang lovingly, and Rachel paled even more than when she was in the cold shower. “Is your wife and kid home? I would love to meet them.”

Jim furrowed his eyebrow at a title he did not have, along with everything else that didn’t make any sense. Who exactly was this guy? And why was he saying all of these things? He opens his mouth to speak, but Rachel tugs on his jacket with her bloody hand. Their eyes locked, and he saw the slight plea of not ‘egging’ this guy on, and Jim took it to heart. 

“Come on, Commissioner. I know you’re out there. Or are you waiting for me to flip a coin?” The mystery man asked, waiting for the cop to reply.

Jim slightly gestured to his bedroom down the hall, and Rachel nodded. Counting down on his fingers, he started at three… 

On one he shot to his feet, drawing his gun and began shooting. The girl runs behind him first, before he follows. The duo could hear them cussing and shouting, even after slamming the door. 

“Get the window open!” He yells to her, just before he tips over his drawer to block the door. 

Rachel did the best she could with both hands, and in the end Jim did have to help her pry it open all the way. He tells her to go first, which she does and the two of them find themselves escaping yet another familiar place. First the GCPD, and now this. As they’re running, he starts to feel around his pockets. 

_“Fuck, I don’t have my keys.”_ He thinks, deciding on what he should do next.

When they arrived at his car, he ended up elbowing the window, shattering it on one part. Nicking his hands on the edge of the glass, but he couldn’t feel anything due to the adrenaline in his veins. Quickly unlocking, they both got in, but still no keys to start it up.

“Keys.” He muttered, seconds before she kicked off the panel over the ignition. “What are you-”

“Pull out the blue wire for me!” She says, as she tugs on another colored one. 

Jim wastes no time to yank it out, and give it to her. He watches as she strings them together, a couple of sparks going off as she yells at him to start hitting the gas pedal. A few tries, and the car came to life. A fast smile went to horror as a few bullets hit the back windshield. 

“GO, JIM!!” She yells, and he steps on the accelerator. The car jerks forward, and they’re soon far down the road, and hopefully out of sight.

He looks back for a split second, the two of them panting heavily. “Do you know who that was?” He asked, eyes all over the place.

She nods. “Yeah…”

“Do I know who it was?” 

Another nod. “Yeah.”

Jim’s face softened after he got a good look at her. “We need to get you to the hospital.” He says, gently.

She shakes her head without any hesitation. “No. No hospital.”

“Rachel-”

“Jim, I don’t even exist remember? Telling people I’m your niece isn’t going to work at the hospital. Those people run backgrounds, remember?”

He frowns at how right she was. “Shit.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a graze.”

“A graze doesn't bleed like that. I need to take you somewhere, to _someone_. I just… I just don’t know who though.”

There was a moment of silence in the car, before the quiet girl swallowed and replies, “I know where Lee is.”

This made Jim avert his eyes from the road, maybe longer than he should have. “Lee? You know where she is?” He asks, his undertone sounding almost desperate and small.

“I do. She’s not too far from here.”

His eyes look straight again, looking out with disbelief. “No. She’s not even in Gotham anymore. Her note said that she left.”

“She couldn’t. She’s here in the city, Jim. So you want a doctor, you and I can both trust her into keeping my existence a secret. Right?” Rachel looks at him with sadden eyes. “I know you want to see her too. So why not now?”

His jaw slacks and so does his shoulders as her words carved into him. Him see Lee again? After everything that's happened, was he ready to see her again? A silent sigh, and he let his fingers relax against the steering wheel before locking eyes with the girl again.

“Where is she?” He asked. He had mapped out Gotham’s streets so he’ll know exactly where to go if he told him the address. A neat little skill that helped him out as a cop.

With steel like eyes, as she applied more pressure to her wound, she says, “In the Narrows.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how a whole hotwiring a car thing works, so I just wrote what I saw in a cartoon. Lol. Can you guys guess what villains are coming to old Gotham? Right your theories down below. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! And stay Traught!


	5. Okay, Let's Be Whelmed Here, Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Lee reunite after some time apart, and Rachel tries to hold back a grin while watching the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'm so happy I have people following this story. I wasn't a hundred percent certain if people would read a fic like this, but I guess I was wrong. Thank you everyone! And enjoy the chapter.

The car rolled to a stop, and Jim threw the parking brake up before getting out. Jogging around to the opposite side to pry the door open. He carefully helped Rachel to her feet, holding her steady. 

“Careful.” He warned, gently. He let the young girl lean against him for some support, but also wanted to keep her close in a place like this. 

The Narrows. The so-called poor part of the city, but also the most dangerous as well. Crime was always through the roof here. And now, he’s walking straight into it, and with a kid no less. I mean… what was he thinking? Is he an idiot for walking in a practical line of fire of low life thugs and gangs? I mean is he-

“Jim…” Rachel breathes, drawing him away from his overactive mind. “Are we going? Or did you change your mind?”

“Um…” He begins, before touching her sweaty forehead. Warm. _“She’s started to get a fever.”_ He looks into the streets of the Narrows, before deciding he really didn’t have any other choice. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They start walking, and he keeps her close while his free hand is on his holster, eyes scanning all around. How could this place be so sad and yet creepy at the same time? It didn’t make any sense. He swallows, ignoring how a rat just brushes past his legs. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked, concerned.

“Me?” She said, before giving a very small smile. “I’m whelmed.”

“Whelmed?”

“Yeah. You know, not overwhelmed or not underwhelmed. You’re in the middle. You’re _whelmed.”_

He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t think that’s a word.”

“It’s not. I just like to butcher English, that’s all.” She catches his confused expression, and goes on to clarify. “English is my second language.”

“It is?” She nods. “I’m impressed, I would have never have guessed.”

“Well, my father was determined that I felt comfortable here.” Rachel felt herself falter, and slouch against the detective more than she would have liked, and probably left him worrying more than he needs to be.

Which, she was correct.

Jim set his jaw straight, and guided the two of them down a few more blocks before he decided to ask where to go. “So where is Lee, exactly?” He asks, taking another look around again.

“Not sure, but I remember her telling me she was the… what was it?” Rachel begins, racking her brain for the title the doctor uses now. “The Queen of the Narrows.”

“The Queen of the Narrows?” She nods again. “Lee is?”

Another nod. “Yes. But I don't know where she is.” 

He hums, and stops. Where the hell could a ‘Queen’ be? Blue eyes caught movement to his right, and he quickly notices it's a man pushing a shopping cart full of things. “Stay close.” He mutters, before they both walk over towards him. “Excuse me?”

“Yes…?” The man said, slowly. His one good eye scanning the pair over from head to toe. 

“Do you happen to know where the Queen is?” 

Skeptical glance, and a distrusting look. “Are you a cop, young man?”

Jim nods slowly. “I am.”

“Are you here to take us out? Or actually help us?”

He tightens his hold against her subtly, standing his ground. “Look, I’m just here because I heard she was a doctor.”

“And why do you need a doctor? A cop like _you_ should be able to see one in the city.” The man said, coldly.

“It’s not for me, it’s for her.” Jim gestures to the teen. “She’s an… undocumented immigrant, and can’t afford a doctor. I just need to take her wherever she is.” He held his breath as the man gave them another skeptical look, before giving in.

“She’s down the street, in a fight club/bar called ‘Cherry’s Place’. Just make a left at the two story apartments, and then you’ll be there.” He replies, before continuing to push his cart away.

“Thanks.” He mumbled, before stringing her along again. _“A fight club? How did Lee end up in a place like that?”_

They soon found themselves in front of a neon sign, flashing the colors of red and green with a pair of… well, you guessed it, Cherries. Even from the solid brick walls and iron door, you could still hear people screaming and cheering from the outside. Jim starts to wonder if it was a good idea to bring a kid inside one of these, but that very thought was thrown away when she started to slouch even more against him. 

“Stay close, okay?” He repeats, and he feels her nod against his chest. Rolling up to the door he quickly knocked, and the peephole cover slid open. “I’m here to see the queen. We have some… unfinished business if you know what I mean?” He wiggles his eyebrows, and it seemed to work because the door swung open, and they stepped inside.

“Well that wasn’t very PG of you.” Rachel joked, and she could sense his genuine smile.

“I’m glad that you're not completely disoriented.”

The pounding sound of music attacked their ears, and the vibrant, flashing colors burned their eyes as well. It smelled like alcohol, drugs, and BO. It was crowded like hell too. From the fast look at the center ring, Jim noticed it was empty, but people still gathered around it like there was a fight going on. The customers of the bar shouted a name he’s never heard of, ‘Solomon Grundy’, which was repeated over and over again as they banged on the floors and counters with their fists and bottles. 

As he tried his best to navigate around them, looking for any signs of a brunette woman, he had people yell incoherent things into his face, and had bottles or chairs thrown over head; He did all this while trying to keep her out of harm's way (at this point he was practically hovering over her). Getting near the bar counter now, he finally heard the woman’s voice that was still itched in his mind.

“Jim?” Lee said, making him straighten up and looking behind. 

Red lipstick and straight, long black hair. The new set of bangs he’s never seen before, and a revealing black outfit that was very gothic. There was no white lab coat, or cute little skirts, or even her beautiful wavy hair. For one second, the detective almost didn’t believe that was Lee, but deep down he knew who this was standing before him. 

“Lee?” He said, surprised.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, confused herself.

“Um…” He pauses to give himself time to pull out of this trance he was in. “I need your help.” He watches as she opens her mouth to protest, but he stops her beforehand. “I know what you’re thinking, just hear me out. Please?”

Lee starts to look hesitant, but her gut tells her to hear him out before deciding to push him away. She crosses her arms, standing tall. “I’m listening.”

“Look, I promise I’ll tell you everything, but to make a long story short, I can’t go to the hospital; And she needs help.” Jim gently pulls Rachel into the doctor’s view, who’s still clenching her wound closed with her hand. Lee looks surprised once again, as he takes another good look at the teenager who’s gotten paler than before. “Please, Lee. I don’t know where else to go.”

His eyes made a plea, and he felt almost guilty in some way. Jim knows Lee loves children, so why does this feel like he’s guilt tripping her into helping Rachel?

The hesitation on the Queen’s face burned away, her arms falling beside her now. “Follow me.” She replies, and Jim could finally let go of the breath he was holding.

*****Break*****

“Here. Drink this, I could tell you were dizzy.” Lee said, handing the girl a glass of orange juice. 

“Thanks.” Rachel replies, shifting her stance to sit up more on the table.

“Let’s have a look at your arm.” She raised the sleeve up, getting a better look at the wound. Her face showed her worries.

“It’s bad, huh?”

“Did you get _shot?”_

“I was in Jim’s apartment when these guys attacked us with guns.”

Lee faces the man standing a few feet away, who shrugged slightly.

“She’s not wrong.” He replies, watching her disapproving look. “I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

Lee sighs, and goes back to work. “You better.”

“How bad is it?”

“It doesn’t look as bad as it seems, although the bullet did take a chunk off your arm. That’ll take a while to heal.” She replies, grabbing a scalpel. “I’m going to have to feel around for any trances of the bullets, okay?”

Rachel nods, and braces herself as Lee felt around. The feeling of the metal inside was extremely uncomfortable. _“Dracu **(1)** ”_ She muttered, getting a few stares. “Romanian.” She quickly clarifies, making Jim want to to put his two senses in before Lee erupted.

“Well there’s no bullet or fragments, so I’m just going to stitch up, miss…”

“Rachel.” The teen smiles, and the only man in the room starts to see the joy she had when they first met yesterday when she was looking at Lee. 

_“So she does her. But it looks like it’s personal, and not just because she could be a patient of Lee. Strange.”_ Jim wonders, watching the interaction closely.

“Rachel.” the Queen says, getting out her medical sewing kit. “Apologizes in advance. This will probably hurt a little.”

Rachel waves her hand. “Eh, it’s fine. This ain’t the first time I’ve gotten stitches.” She ignores the shocked face of the doctor, as she relaxes the best she can so Lee could patch her up. A few minutes later, the wound was closed and the stained blood on her arms were wiped away.

“There. Now try to stay off that arm when you sleep, okay?” 

“Yes, miss Thompkins.”

“And as for you, Jim-” She faces him with her arms crossed again. “Do you mind telling me what the hell’s going on? And how did you find me?”

“Well for starters, I didn’t find you. She did.” Jim reptiles truthfully, pointing to the girl. The two girl’s eyes meet again, and Rachel just gives the woman a shrug. “And as for what’s going on, that’s a… a tough pill to swallow.”

“What do you mean by that?” Lee asks, confusion hitting her again.

“Uh…” Jim clasps his hands together, trying to get a ‘spark’ going. How the hell was he supposed to explain this? And make sure she believes him? 

Rachel clears her throat, retrieving the spotlight back again. “Do you believe in time travel, Lee?” She asks, casually, like this was just a normal everyday topic people talk about. 

“Time travel?” Lee repeats back.

“Uh, Rachel? Maybe we should ease into it?” Jim cuts in, worried that this might go off the rails fast.

The girl shrugs again. “Hey, I’m just trying to be chalant about it.”

Now it was Lee’s turn to ask a question, her face holding all the boxed up confusion she had inside. “Chalant?” 

“She likes to butcher the English language.” Jim answers.

“Look Lee, I’m just going to blunt with you just like I was with Jim, okay?” Rachel continues, “Basically, I’m from the year 2012 and somehow I ended up being transported back here in 1995. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to a person I knew I could trust, which was Mr. Gordon. And that summons everything so far up.”

Rachel’s unflappable face.

Jim nearly biting his nails in anticipation. 

And Lee’s look of bewilderment. 

About a minute past before the Queen of the Narrows scoffed, which turned into a tiny chuckle. “I’m sorry… time travel? You actually think I’d believe in this story?” She asks, shaking her head slightly.

Jim looked for the girl for guidance, but unfortunately her focus was elsewhere, so he was on his own. “Lee, I know it sounds like a bunch of crap, but it’s true.”

“True? How? And what makes you so sure that she isn’t making up some stories?”

A little taken back by the question, but he continued on and answered his best. “It’s…” How does he put this? “It’s just a gut feeling.”

“That’s it? That’s your evidence?” Lee asks, surprised that a great detective was working without any clues. “I thought you knew better than that, Jim.”

“I do, but this is different.” 

“How is this different?”

“It’s different because-”

“When you were preteen you wanted to be a veterinarian-” Rachel butts in, getting the adults’ attention. “However, your parents were strict and never would allow it. Instead they wanted you to become a lawyer, which you refused. So as a compromise, you all agreed that you be a doctor. But after all that training, you still barely speak with your parents.”

Jim’s shoulders slouched in shock, and he faced his ex girlfriend. “You never told me that about your parents.” He said, a little sad by the fact.

A disbelieving Lee gave herself a moment to understand the hidden memory from her past. She swallows. “I… I never mentioned that to anybody before.”

“Because I know you, Lee. Just like I know Jim. I’m telling you the truth.” The girl says, and watches as the woman opens and closes her mouth indecisively. 

Lee sets herself straight, and replies. “Prove it. Give me one good answer that makes me believe you.”

Rachel gives it some thought before facing Jim. “Can you give us the room?” He nods and leaves. Soon after the door shuts behind him, she immediately starts talking. “You told me after you injected yourself with Tetch’s virus you left a note to Jim that you were leaving Gotham, but you didn’t, and you told me why.”

Lee raises an eyebrow. “And that is?”

“Because you finally know what Jim felt since he started his job as a cop. You felt the darkness in this city, and also the urge to help it. I mean look at you, even though you’re a club owner now you’re still a doctor. You can never leave this place no matter what you do or think.” Rachel keeps her stoic face, finishing off her statement. “You also wouldn't leave because of _him_ either.”

She scoffed. “Jim doesn’t hold me back, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“No. But the thought of you not even being in the same city as him is what makes you not leave. You didn’t leave because of Jim after the virus, heck, you didn’t even want to leave when the whole Galavan/Wayne/Blackgate thing was going on.” The teen continues, pointing. “You told me yourself that you didn’t even want to marry Mario, your heart still belongs to the guy outside the door.” She tilts her head with a new stride. “How’s that for proving myself to you?”

The high and mighty Queen had slouched in surprise. The girl’s words had found their way to tug on her heartstrings. “That’s…” She stutters, almost in awe that Rachel knew this. “That’s exactly how I feel. I just never gave it much thought until you mentioned it.”

“See?” The raven haired said, holding her arms out. “I told you I knew you.”

“It seems like you do.”

“Now do you believe me that I’m from the future?” 

“Hang on for a second.” Lee holds up her hands in defeat. “Time travel? Now that’s something I’m going to have to get used to.”

Rachel smiles, and the door suddenly opened up with someone other than the police detective. Someone with shaggy black hair, glasses, and a bright colored suit. The girl found herself surprised at who it was.

“Lee!” Ed calls out in disarray.

“Edward?” She replies, watching him walk over. “What’s the matter?”

“First off, What he’s doing here?” He points to the doorway where Jim stumbled in, a mixture of shock and anger on his face.

Lee stands tall again, crossing her arms at the rude intrusion. “Well, he was bringing me an injured civilian on a case he was working on. One that couldn’t go to the hospital for legal reasons.” She lies, quickly. “And you’re invading a checkup.”

“Oh…” His tense form falters slightly, before facing the girl “Apologizes, miss. I did not know. But anyway, the show’s about to start, aren’t you coming down?”

“Edward, I can’t. I have a patient to deal with.” 

“But-”

“But you can handle opening a show up this once. Can’t you?”

“Me?” He said, ignoring her question. “You want _me_ to do it?”

“Ed, go. Now. So I can finish up here.” She replies, sounding more like a demand.

“Okay, but-”

“Go!” She waves him off, and with a huff and one last look at Jim, he is officially gone. Lee sighs, holding her head.

Steel blue eyes did a double take, before jerking his thumb towards the exit. “Him? What’s he doing here?” Jim asked, paranoid at what might happen with the Riddler around.

“He came here a few months ago.” Lee replies, truthfully. “Although, he’s not that very smart right now.” She brushes past him to close the door to leave them all alone again.

“Huh. Eddie looks good with the long hair.” Rachel says out the blue. 

Jim faces her, giving her a look at the nickname she said. “You seem like you know everyone.”

A huge smirk. “The job I have requires me to do so.”

“What kind of job is that? You're fourteen.”

An echoing cackle, and he saw almost a mischievous glint in her orbs. “Oh, Jimmy, you still have a lot to learn. Also, FYI, she believes me now.”

He perks up at the good news. “You believe Rachel now?” He asks with hopefulness. 

“I do. But it’ll take me some time to wrap my head around it.” She replies, coming back over.

“Good.” He smiles. “Listen, I appreciate you doing this.”

“My pleasure. Once a doctor, always a doctor, right?”

“Right.” A brief pause, as he decides the next phase. “Okay. I guess we’ll be going then.”

She stops him from moving by grabbing his forearm. “Hold on, you’re actually leaving already?”

“Well, yeah.”

“But you two told me that your house was attacked by gunmen? Are you going back there?”

“Look, Lee, that’s the only place I can go right now. I’m kind of in a corner right now with this time travel situation.” He frowns. “Plus, no offense, but a fight club/bar is not an ideal place for a child to be sleeping at.”

“I’ll admit, that’s a smart move, but _gunmen_ , Jim! What if they’re still there?”

“What if they aren’t?

“But what if they are?”

_“Omule, tensiunea sexuală dintre voi doi este remarcabilă **(2)**.”_ Rachel muttered, watching the two bickers back and forth. 

“Then… I don’t know what to do, Lee. And on top of all that, we still got to figure out how she even got here.” Jim continues, his tired mind trying to come up with a place to go and different scenarios for time travel.

“Well… okay. Um.” Lee begins, thinking as well. “What about Harvey, can you stay with him?”

He frowns. “Guess you haven’t seen the news. A new Gotham villain attacked the both of us last night, he’s in the hospital.”

She looks a little taken back by his response. “Oh, no. I hope he’s going to be okay.”

“He will, he’s tough.” He glanced away, and she could see something was troubling him about his partner.

“Jim-”

And for a second time today, the door was thrown open. “Doc!” Yelled one of her workers.

“What is with the barging in here today!?” She snaps, making the person jump.

“I’m so sorry for intruding, but you're urgently needed downstairs.” 

She heavily sighs. “Okay.” She faces Jim again. “I’ll be back.”

He nods, and watches her leave in an aura of annoyance that she keeps getting interrupted. Unknowingly, he runs his hand through his hair. Exhaustion plagued his face and body, his mind starting to slow from overthinking. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

“You know, I don’t mind if we have to be here tonight.” Rachel replies, trying to look reassuringly. “I’ve slept in worse places.”

“Is that something to do with the job you were telling me about?” He asks.

“You could say that.”

“Are you going to ever tell me what that is?”

“Eventually. But not now of course.” He scoffs, which turns into a small laugh. She tilts her head at him in confusion. “What?”

“Nothing.” He replies, and she could tell he was trying to hold back a grin.

“What? Tell me.”

“It’s just…” He shakes his head at the thought, shifting his stance a bit in the process. “You just remind me of this kid I know. Bruce.”

Her face falls, but her curiosity still stays. “Bruce?”

“Yeah. He’s uh… kind of a rich kid, but wants to change the city in a way I’ve never thought of before. And he’s always trying to hide this ‘secret’ job from me. It’s strange, but hey, it’s his calling I guess.” He smiles a bit brighter. “Aw man, he must be an adult in your timeline by now. That’s crazy to even think that.”

Her heart skipped a beat, the corner of her lips turning upward with a sense of pride. _“Oh, you have no idea, Jim.”_ She told herself. She was happy that Jim seemed to be fond of Bruce back then, just like he is now. It was a nice thing to see. _“You have no idea how much you helped him too.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Curse word: Fuck.  
> (2) Man, The sexual tension between you two is remarkable.
> 
> I used google translate, so who knows if that's even correct. Lol. What do you think might happen next? Tell me down below. Thanks for reading. See you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, let's see how this goes. I do have many ideas for this story though.


End file.
